SunRail: It may be now or never for Orlando's grand plan to get commuters off I-4, onto daily train

Special report - Commuter rail

February 22, 2009|By Dan Tracy, Sentinel Staff Writer

When Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer led a delegation of commuter-rail supporters to Tallahassee recently, they exuded confidence, almost an air of inevitability.

Joined by senators on key legislative committees and Florida's cheerleader-in-chief, Gov. Charlie Crist, they unveiled an economic-impact study showing that the project would generate billions in development and thousands of jobs over 30 years.

FOR THE RECORD - *************CORRECTION OR CLARIFICATION PUBLISHED MARCH 3, 2009 **********The continuation of an article about the proposed SunRail commuter train on Page A12 Feb. 22 may have left an incorrect impression about the state's financial obligation in the planned $150 million purchase of 61.5 miles of track from the CSX railroad. The state plans to borrow the entire amount through the sale of bonds and to make debt payments -- estimated to cost $11.3 million annually -- for seven years, for a total of $79 million. However, the remaining 23 years of debt payments would be made by the city of Orlando and Volusia, Seminole, Orange and Osceola counties.******************************************************************************

"Who could be against SunRail?" Crist said.

Actually, there's no shortage of opponents of the 61.5-mile project, which is supposed to run two-to-three-car passenger trains between DeLand and Poinciana by 2013 and culminate a massive state rail-transportation realignment in the works since 2006.

At $1.2 billion, it's hugely expensive. Nearly $800 million is state money in a year when Florida is looking at a multibillion-dollar budget deficit. And more than half the state's share -- $490 million -- will go to subsidize improvements to freight lines and operations elsewhere in the state owned by CSX Corp.

"Why are we helping a private, for-profit company with precious tax dollars?" asked state Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, who led the charge that scuttled SunRail in 2008.

These arguments will be played out during the Florida Legislature's 60-day session that begins March 3.

And the clock is ticking: The state's deal with CSX expires in June and so could a promise of an additional $300 million in federal funds to buy rail cars and help build the 17 planned stations.

Said Maitland Mayor Doug Kinson, whose city would have a SunRail stop, "This is our shot."

Ready for another try

Knocked off track last year in the state Senate, where the bill died without a vote on the session's last day, train supporters insist they're ready for anything this year.

A coalition of business leaders and elected officials has lobbied legislators in Tampa and Jacksonville, both sources of opposition in 2008. Two critical Senate committees -- Transportation and Judiciary -- are now chaired by Central Florida lawmakers. One of them, Sen. Lee Constantine, R-Altamonte Springs, is sponsoring the legislation.

Led by Dyer, a former state senator, SunRail backers have abandoned the most controversial provision in last year's bill: language that would have granted the private contractors who would run and maintain the rail system immunity from lawsuits resulting from accidents. That provision was strongly opposed by the state's trial lawyers.

This year's bill says that victims of an accident will be paid from a $200 million liability policy to be purchased by the state and SunRail. The trial lawyers have promised to back off.

Finally, a state-commissioned report estimates SunRail could create more than 11,500 jobs during the next 30 years along its tracks in Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia counties. More than $18 billion worth of development also could occur within a half-mile radius of the stations by 2028, the report said.

"SunRail is an economic engine, and we are ready to roll," Dyer said.

That's true in the 120-member House, where support for the train is led by Rep. Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, slated to become speaker in 2010. Cannon powered the bill through the House last year and is confident he can do it again. The House bill passed through its only committee stop last week on a 13-3 vote and is now bound for the House floor.

But even Constantine, the bill's Senate sponsor, isn't certain he has the 21 votes he needs to pass that chamber.

His talking points will be the economic benefits of the train in a recessionary economy. But he concedes that is not as easy as simply denouncing the project as a boondoggle.

"I have to have a five-minute conversation. They need 15 seconds," Constantine said.

Fighting SunRail is Dockery, a seventh-year senator fiercely opposed to the project because it could sharply increase the number of CSX freight trains sent through her Lakeland hometown. Those trains would be rerouted west from the tracks that now run through downtown Orlando.

To the state Department of Transportation, which started negotiating with CSX in 2004, SunRail is a small part of its overall plan. Just $150 million of the state funds will go to buy SunRail's 61.5 miles of track from CSX.

Far more state money -- $490 million -- will pay to upgrade CSX's tracks and build a new switchyard in Winter Haven, all for a company with annual revenues of more than $11 billion.

Dockery also is arguing that the ultimate cost of SunRail is much greater than the $1.2 billion advertised. She pegs it at closer to $2.7 billion over 30 years, once costs such as interest on borrowed money are included.

Constantine's response: "The money we spend here will produce jobs and dollars that can be put back into the state.

Besides the economic impact, state officials defend the deal by saying the improved freight lines will take trucks off major roads, cut the cost of shipping and reduce air pollution.